HARTFORD — Gov. Dannel Malloy will soon have the opportunity to sign into law Senate Bill 502, An Act Concerning Bicycle Safety, setting the stage for making Connecticut markedly more bicycle-friendly.

The state Senate approved the bill unanimously on May 7, with the House of Representatives overwhelmingly passing the measure, 139-6 on May 20. The next step is for Malloy to sign the bill into law.

The bill lets state and municipal transportation professionals design the kinds of bikeways, including two-way bike lanes, buffered bike lanes and cycle tracks, that are used in the most dynamic, prosperous cities in the country and the world.

The bill also improves state laws on bicyclists riding “as far right as practicable” and passing slower moving cyclists and other road users. Current laws are outdated and ambiguous, leading to misunderstandings and highly variable enforcement. The bill includes model language recommended by the League of American Bicyclists and the Uniform Vehicle Code.

One portion of the bill eliminated a previous statute and replaced it with this:

Sec. 3. Section 14-286b of the general statutes is repealed and the following is substituted in lieu thereof (Effective July 1, 2015):

(a) [Every person operating a bicycle upon a roadway shall ride as near to the right side of the roadway as is safe, as judged by the bicyclist, except when (1) making a left turn pursuant to subsection (b) of section 14-241, (2) overtaking and passing another vehicle proceeding in the same direction, (3) overtaking and passing pedestrians, parked vehicles, animals or obstructions on the right side of the highway, and (4) when the right side of the highway is closed to traffic while under construction or repair.] Any person operating a bicycle upon a roadway at less than the normal speed of traffic shall ride as close to the right side of the roadway as is safe, as judged by the bicyclist, except when:

(1) Overtaking or passing another vehicle proceeding in the same direction;

(2) Preparing for a left turn at an intersection or into a private road or driveway;

(3) Reasonably necessary to avoid conditions, including, but not limited to, fixed or moving objects, parked or moving vehicles, bicycles, pedestrians, animals, surface hazards or lanes that are too narrow for a bicycle and a motor vehicle to travel safely side by side within such lanes;

(4) Approaching an intersection where right turns are permitted and there is a dedicated right turn lane, in which case a bicyclist may ride on the left-hand side of such dedicated lane, even if the bicyclist does not intend to turn right;

(5) Riding on a roadway designated for one-way traffic, when the bicyclist may ride as near to the left-hand curb or edge of such roadway as judged safe by the bicyclist; or

(6) Riding on parts of roadways set aside for the exclusive use of bicycles, including, but not limited to, counter-flow bicycle lanes, left-handed cycle tracks on one-way streets and two-way cycle tracks.

Bike lanes and greenways aren’t just good for our health. Since transportation is the biggest contributor to greenhouse gases in Connecticut, active transportation — biking and walking — must be a key piece of the state’s climate action plan. Bikeways are also a cost-efficient way to manage traffic congestion. Bike lanes, sidewalks and greenways cost a fraction of what it costs to build and maintain roads. People tend to bike and walk more when they have the bike lanes, greenways and sidewalks.

“Being bike-friendly isn’t just a ‘nice to have’ thing anymore,” said Kelly Kennedy, executive director of Bike Walk Connecticut. “Being bike-friendly is now essential to competitiveness. In fact, not being bike-friendly is a competitive disadvantage. Connecticut's car-dependent lifestyle is not the lifestyle that millennials or the creative class have in mind. A well-designed active transportation network will help bring millennials and the creative class to Connecticut and keep them here, strengthening our economy.”

Weston resident Ray Rauth, the first chairman of the Bicycle and Pedestrian Advisory Board in 2009 — and still a member — is very excited to see this bill signed into law.

“I’m sure the governor will look favorably upon the bill,” Rauth said.

“In fact, the (newly passed) budget has $100 million earmarked for bike and pedestrian paths and sidewalks and trails — all that good stuff over the next 10 years. We on the board have been following this. I believe Rep. Gail Lavielle and Sen. Toni Boucher sponsored this bill.”

Rauth and his board are especially pleased because this bill moved through both houses of the legislature without getting watered down.

“This bill follows a number of (bicycle and pedestrian) bills in the last 10 years, and this is the only bill that went from start to end with no revision downward,” Rauth said.

“We are thrilled with it. Motorists should be excited because they legally cross a double yellow line to get around a slow-moving vehicle, and cyclists are excited because they may legally take a full lane. I think this is about as good as we could have hoped for.”